Ripple Effect
by CreativeImaginations
Summary: A plant has SG1 drawn to this unique planet... However, Jack and Sam become stranded for several weeks. Jack is on edge and Sam doesn't understand why. Eventually, the truth comes out. J/S May contain some explicit material. In-Progress. I don't own Stargate SG-1 or anything to do with it. This is just purely for fun and enjoyment. Reviews are greatly appreciated!
1. Chapter 1

"Carter… We're supposed to give them technology for a ...plant?"

* * *

SG-1 was sent onto a strictly diplomatic mission to a planet that they came to know as Lutrotunyeante. Or at least that was what the villagers called it. It was a beautiful, unique planet indeed. As the team made their way towards the village, it soon became evident that it was hot as the team had to make a stop along the pathway to shed some layers. The planet was discovered by SG-16 on a standard exploration mission but the SGC General deemed it was best continued by SG-1.

"Two suns, sir. The planet has two suns." Sam observed as she began stuffing her BDU jacket into her pack.

"It's hot, Carter." A simple fact despite the fact that they were in a rainforest separated by the trail. Shady yet hot.

"We shouldn't be too far from the village." Daniel pitched in as he glanced at his watch, all too eager to keep going.

Teal'c, as usual remained silent.

Most of the way to the village was a steady downhill trek but within fifteen minutes, they had arrived. The pathway ended and led to a huge opening filled with huts and people going about their business. The team had expected the villagers to be more technologically advanced. "No wonder why they needed me to translate." Daniel scratched his head in curiosity with a hint of confusion. "Ah I should get to it." He spoke as he walked off towards one of the main huts. Yes, huts. The villagers were dressed decently for their lifestyle, yet they were basic.

"Teal'c, with Daniel, Carter and I will do a perimeter check, radio contact every ten minutes." Jack ordered as Teal'c gave him his slow nod before heading off after the translator.

"Carter… We're supposed to give them technology for a ...plant?" The General continued to observe his surroundings and the people before looking over at his second in command. "Uh, yes sir. We're to give them basic technology necessities like propane stoves, educate them on technology and hope they can take off from there. We'd also like to offer them protection if they need it."

"All this for a plant? Carter, what's a plant got to do with this?"

"Sir, SG-16 noticed that none of them were sick… They were treated with this plant for everything, illnesses, even cuts healed quickly. This could be a cure to the common cold or even assist in superficial cuts, we wouldn't need stitches or cough medicine anymore. With our technology and science staff, we may find other uses for it too. It's a huge discovery sir."

"Ah. Well that plant should have a better name than the planet's. Can't I just call it Tuna?"

A laugh came from Carter as she shook her head. "Sorry sir."

"Alright then, just Lutro then. That name is just too much." Jack then gestured to Carter to split up and check out the village.

Kids were playing with a ball, some drawing in the sand, singing and chasing each other. The Colonel watched with a smile on her face, it was a happy and upbeat atmosphere around the village. It was radiating. A ball rolled to her feet and the children playing some sort of game shouting and gesturing for her to pass the ball back. With a chuckle, Carter kicked the ball back as she continued through.

As for Jack, he was on the more adult side of the village, it seemed that they had an area for children and an area for the adults and another area for the families or the parents doing their daily chores near their homes. Mostly women as their husbands would be off hunting but there would be the odd few that were the opposite. It seemed that they had separated the hut areas as well based on their marriage status. They were definitely organized and highly intelligent. As Jack continued on, he found more women were ogling him, some talking to each other and giggling while watching him. It was clear that they were talking about Jack. It was time to get out of the area. As he heard yelling from some kids, Jack briskly walked closer just in time to see Carter playfully kick the ball back. The sight in turn made him smile to himself as he continued his perimeter checks. It seemed that the villagers didn't mind having them there and were more than happy to.

"Daniel Jackson has made some progress O'Neill." Came the voice through the radio.

"Alright T, Carter and I will be right there."

They headed towards the biggest hut in the town where Teal'c and Daniel were waiting for them just outside of the entrance.

"Jack! Sam! I've got an agreement. I have to stay to continue translations and get to know them some more. They have agreed to take you to where the plant grows so you can get a sample. This is Muro, he's their doctor and knows most about the plant. Oh the plant is called Triyanus. It means Three Islands in their language. Anyway, I've got to continue with Mallea, their village leader but this is Ruenia and she will take you to their ferry to take you to Azurn which is one of the three islands, Mao and Ilara are the other tw-"

"Daniel, I think we've got it, go to an island to get the plant and come back? Yes?" Jack interrupted.

"Yes. Utania is their village name by the way." Daniel pushed off the slight frustration he was feeling thanks to Jack. Mallea soon came running out and began pulling Daniel back inside the hut by the hand with a flirtatious smile. "Gotta go guys." Muro followed behind Daniel back into the hut.

Now Ruenia began to tug on Sam's arm as she began to walk towards the other end of the village, in the opposite direction from where the Stargate was. "I'll be with you Carter, go ahead. Teal'C, stay with Daniel, radio us if there's any trouble." As Teal'c gave a nod, General O'Neill jogged after Carter to keep up.

"I think the big M lady has got a thing for Daniel." Jack chuckled as he followed with a steady pace.

"Mallea? Yes sir." Came Carter's reply as she smirked at the thought. This trail wasn't as spacious as the one they had traveled in on, as the tall green grass nearly overcrowded the path. The trek to the planet's ocean was short but there was a cool breeze as their trail came out onto a sandy beach. It was significantly cooler than it was back in the village. There was a boat, like a canoe.

"A ferry huh? Think Daniel was a bit off on his translation on that one."

Ruenia ran over to the man sitting along the shore and waved her hands around as if gesturing with him in their language before nodding with a smile towards Jack and Sam as they caught up and pointed to the boat then patted the man's shoulder. "Carro." Was all she said.

"Carro, Jack, Carter." Jack gestured and gave a nod once Carro stood and allowed the two to get in the canoe. Carro launched them off-shore and quickly hopped into the canoe quite gracefully as Ruenia ran off back towards the village.

Carter sat at the front, facing the back as Jack faced Carter in the center with the villager at the back, facing the front. After a few minutes of just the villager paddling, Jack found the other paddle and began to help out. It took them a solid hour of alternating paddling before they finally reached Azurn, the second of the three islands.

As soon as they had safely docked the canoe, Carro led them towards where their plant grew in a massive area, it was almost sacrilegious. The villager gestured to them to go relieve his bladder as Sam crouched down and took off her pack to grab her items. Jack nodded and gave him a smile. "So Carter, what've you got?" Carro ran off to do nature's calling near the beach.

"It's amazing, the fact that they use this medicine so often through the year for what they need… And with how abundant this is growing… I bet they use one island at a time per year in a rotation, it's genius!"

"Settle down Carter, I don't like being this far from the rest of the team, let's try to be quick."

"Yes sir." With that, Carter sped up her efforts to get as many samples as she could.

"Daniel, Teal'c. We're at the island, just picking up our samples then we're heading back." Silence.

"Daniel, Teal'c come in."

"Sir, we could be out of radio range."

"I don't like it, Carro should have been back by now. Something's up. Let's pack it up Carter." The General was feeling uneasy about this situation, something was off.

Within several moments, the Colonel was ready to go so they followed the trail back towards the sandy beach that they had arrived upon, only to see the boat gone. Jack's eyes scanned the horizon to see a man paddling away on a canoe. "Hey! You forgot us! HEY!" Jack shouted as he booked it towards the shore. Carter joined in as she fired her weapon into the air as if to get his attention. It startled Jack for a moment.

It didn't work.

"What the hell's wrong with him? I swear they did this on purpose. I knew something was off from the beg-"

"Sir, we don't know that for sure. For all we know something could have happened to him. We need to find out what's going on. There's nothing we can do right now… Except… I've got an idea. Give me your radio sir." Carter interrupted quickly.

"Carter." Jack huffed. She was right. She usually was. The 2IC began to explain. "I might be able to boost our radio signal enough so we can reach Daniel and Teal'c and explain what happened and we'll figure this out sir."

Oh Jack was irritated as hell but he remained calm as he dropped his pack and handed her his radio. "I'm going to do a perimeter check." With that, he walked off as his eyes watched the figure disappear into the horizon as Carter worked on getting the two radios to work together somehow.

As it got darker into the evening, Jack had gathered some firewood on his perimeter check while Sam continued working on the radios. It wasn't long before they had a decent fire going. It was beginning to get difficult to see with just the light from the fire and she wanted to save the batteries on their flashlights. "There's not enough power to boost the radios because I don't have the right tools to make them work together like I want them to." Before she rambled on in her technobabble, she paused and reminded herself that Jack was a simple man that wanted simple answers. Sighing as her eyes were attracted to the crackling fire before her. "It's not looking good sir."


	2. Chapter 2

"How the hell did this happen Daniel?!" The General in charge demanded through his mic as he watched the video of Daniel's apologetic face attempting to explain the situation. "General, the villager Carro went out with them and came back, he didn't remember what happened so he came back. We think something happened to him, turns out that he's deaf so we're having issues with translation, but we're working on it and will send a boat back out at first light. I'm sorry General, we think they're too far out for radio contact."

"I'm sending SG-3 out for back-up if anything happens. Bring them back, that's an order. SGC out."

* * *

Carter had convinced Jack that she wasn't too tired just yet so she took first watch until it was time to wake Jack up so that she could sleep. They slept right on the beach by the fire pit which the Colonel made sure to keep going. The nights weren't too cold or too hot either, it was just right. While Sam slept as the first sun rose, Jack set to work quietly by the shore on making a fishing rod. One sun was closer to the planet than the other so it wasn't too much of a difference in the heat but it was more of a steady heat throughout the day so the nights weren't long enough to feel quite cold since everything else was still warm from the daytime, but the planet was just tropical in general. The further sun always rose first and set last, giving a beautiful few hours start in the day before the main sun would rise. It made the days feel longer than the nights were.

When Sam finally awoke, she let out a yawn and a stretch. The main sun was already just over the horizon as Sam looked around for her commanding officer. That's when she finally noticed General O'Neill wearing shorts, thigh deep and shirtless in the water as he attempted to catch some fish. The sight was nearly to die for. Carter smiled as she watched him for a few moments before she stood and unzipped the bottom half of her BDU pants to convert them into shorts. They were made for this type of situation when it'd be too hot for pants. Carter took off her jacket that she had put on during the night when she was taking her watch. Walking over, she studied the horizon for any signs of a boat. It was actually quite serene and peaceful here. Nothing in the horizon yet. "Any luck sir?"

Almost jumping at the sound of her voice, Jack looked over and his jaw almost hit the ground at the sight before him. Carter in a tank and shorts barefeet in the sand with her hands on her hips. The morning sun seemed to make her skin glow beautifully. _Oh wow, those legs…_

"Sir?" Blinking quickly, Jack met her eyes and shook his head. "Ah, y'know me and fishing." Shrugging casually, he forced himself to look away and try to focus on actually catching a fish before he would actually need to take a cold dive in the water.

"Alright, I'll see what I can do about our camp." Carter pointed to their camp with her thumb and smiled as she turned back towards where they had spent the night.

A few hours later, Carter had made a platform in a secure area just at the tree-line with some logs from fallen trees. It wasn't exactly a large platform because it wasn't that big of an island to have that many fallen trees, at least in a close enough distance to their spot for Sam to carry without overworking herself. She found some solid twine and built a roof over their platform. Soon she had some leaves tied down to protect them from rain and give them shade. She made some bedding out of leaves for them to sleep on. After all that hard work, Carter thought she'd go for a walk to explore the island while Jack fished.

Deciding to start with the pathway that they had followed in on to find the Triyanus plant, Carter walked past where they had collected the plant sample and continued further down the path. Although there was another trail leading off the path that Carter decided to explore. Several fallen logs lay over the trail but Carter pressed on until she hit the end of the narrow trail. The sight that greeted her was almost breathtaking. A beautiful freshwater lake lay before her, surrounded by rocks and a waterfall. The water was so pristine and clear, Sam carefully tested the water with one of the kits she carried on her. The test showing that there was absolutely nothing wrong with the water, it was completely safe. _I better bathe there before I leave this island…_

Turning around after making that mental note, she followed the trail back to the main pathway and continued her trek on. It took a few minutes after continuing to follow the pathway before she found what looked like a cave covered in hanging leaves and vines. Carter pulled out her pistol from her thigh holster and her flashlight and headed inside. After deeming it safe and uninhabited by any living being, Sam exited back onto the trail with her pistol back in its holster and flashlight aside in a pocket and continued to follow the path which led to the other side of the island. Turning to head into a direction along the shoreline, with the water up to her ankles she eventually found herself back to where Jack was fishing near their area.

As she walked closer to her commanding officer, Jack was finishing up on his fishing. "I've found something you'll want to see, sir."

Carter showed him the cave first which he was rather impressed with. It was just the right size, spacious with headroom and had proper ventilation for a fire. _Just perfect._ It was almost a dream island getaway. "Alright Carter, let's make this our muster point. If anything happens and we get separated for whatever reason, meet here." Jack ordered. "Good job Colonel." Damn he was proud of her… Almost too proud.

"One more thing sir…" Carter spoke up before Jack could do anything more and led him to the waterfall which Jack was gobsmacked by upon seeing it, Carter couldn't help but giggle quietly at his facial expression. "Don't worry sir, I had the same reaction too."

They couldn't hear the UAV fly past their island over the sound of the waterfall.


	3. Chapter 3

By the time they had made their way back to the beach, the main sun was beginning to set and it was time to start a fire and to eat something. Carter was prepping their meal while Jack went to find some more wood for their fire. Once she was done, she walked to the shore to wash her hands clean. When she began to walk back, it was then she finally started hearing something that sounded like a motor humming, it wasn't long before she realized it was the UAV and ran towards her radio which had Daniel's voice calling out to them.

It wasn't long before Jack had heard it too and was seen running towards them with a pile of sticks and branches, he dropped them before falling to his knees in front of her, listening as she responded.

"Sam! Is Jack there too? What happened?" Daniel exclaimed through the radio.

"Yes Daniel, we're here, stuck on Azurn. The villager just left us here, we tried to call him back but he wouldn't turn around. What's going on?"

"Ah yeah, about that… Turns out he's deaf."

Jack easily found his radio and just about shouted into it. "Deaf?! How the hell did that happen Daniel?"

"I didn't know! Corro said he doesn't remember anything, we're going to take him to the SGC for testing to find out what happened. I'm sorry guys."

The General's voice came through. "The UAV will be around to boost the signal. It's getting dark so we won't be able to send anyone out to get you until first light."

Jack groaned and dropped his radio, shaking his head as he scrubbed his face out of frustration.

"Yes sir, we'll be fine for the night. Thank you Daniel. Carter out."

Now Carter was catching on, she wondered why Jack was so hot-headed lately. It seemed like when things wouldn't go the way he'd hoped for, he'd explode easily. Something wasn't right. "Sir…"

"I'm fine Carter, just a lot of waiting around with nothing to do. I'm going to get more firewood." Jack huffed as Carter watched him go. It looked like she would have to start the fire herself.

Jack was gone a while this time, she was beginning to worry but she knew with all this plant life that there weren't any harmful animals living here. However, anything could happen so she knew to always be on her guard. Carter had the fire going and was attempting to cook the fish Jack had caught. When their meal was done, she was about to get up to go look for her commanding officer when he had returned with more firewood.

"I've got a lot of firewood in the cave now, figured I'd take some there to keep them dry should it rain."

 _Wow, I hadn't even thought of that…_ "That's a great idea sir. You're here just in time, dinner is ready." Carter handed him his fish while she grabbed hers, using her legs as a table as she ate.

They ate their meal in a comfortable silence with the sound of the crackling fire and the soft hum of the UAV in the distance. It wasn't until well after the second sun had set that Jack said he'd take first watch this time. Carter could tell that he was still feeling unsettled so she simply nodded as she curled up onto her makeshift bed in the shelter, she was asleep almost as soon as her eyes closed.

After Jack had awoken her, she let him take her spot where she had just slept, still warm for him. _It also smells like her._ Allowing the scent of Carter to relax and lull him to sleep. An hour after she had taken second watch, she heard Daniel's voice through the radio and quickly adjusted to keep the volume down so to not wake up the sleeping man. "The wind is picking up so we have to bring the UAV in for the time being, it needs fuel anyway. We'll see you in the morning." "Night Daniel."

It wasn't long before Sam started feeling the breeze turn into a light wind. There was lightning in the distance and a faint thunder. It seemed to move in a direction that wasn't going to hit their island but it was definitely above and near Utania, the village they had come through. No rain for Azurn so for Sam to watch the storm from afar was breathtaking and intense.

When Jack awoke in the morning, Sam was nowhere to be found which concerned him but he told himself not to worry and that she would be back shortly. Jack studied the horizon, he noticed smoke billowing off in the distance so he didn't think too much of it. Stretching out his muscles, Jack decided to go look for Sam and see what she was up to.

Humming to himself, he went about his business before checking the cave which was empty. _Oh maybe she was at the spring getting some water._ With that thought in mind, he headed towards the spring and he heard humming. _What? Carter humming. That only happened once._ Moving closer, he looked around for her along the shore before a pile of clothes nearly alarmed him. _Did something.. No, she was humming._ Jack was confused up until he saw her head emerge from underwater in which case he ducked so hard he nearly hit the ground painfully but he caught himself. _Oh. Oh shit. She's having a bath._ As Jack turned to crawl out back towards the trail, his foot slipped and kicked some rocks, causing it to clatter. "Shit." Jack whispered to himself.

Upon hearing the clatter, Sam's eyes moved to the location she had heard it from. "Sir, is that you?"

"Ah yes, I just tripped." Jack suddenly bounced up and exclaimed as he turned around upon pretending to just have seen her in the spring. "Whoa! Sorry Carter. I'll leave, didn't know you were having a bath. I didn't see anything, I swear." He could feel his pants feel a little tight. _Really? Now?_ _I seriously didn't see anything. Damn it._ "It's alright sir, glad it was just you." Carter felt herself blushing as she moved behind a rock as she watched him leave, not knowing what she had just done to him.

Once she knew Jack was gone and wasn't spying on her, she continued her bath. It was rather relaxing and felt very cleansing for her. Afterwards, she dressed back into her shorts and tank top and skipped off to the beach, feeling quite rejuvenated. Jack was back at fishing just because he could. There was still no UAV or a boat in sight yet. It made her wonder if they were coming. She could see the wisp of smoke grow bigger with each hour that passed. It was concerning when it seemed to grow nearer and nearer to the village.

* * *

Reports from villagers were coming in about how there was a fire that broke out from the lightning storm overnight. Despite their firefighting efforts, the blaze proved too great so everyone began to panic. Daniel managed to get permission from the SGC General to evacuate or relocate the villagers until the fire passed. They knew Jack and Sam were going to be okay on the island so they began to worry about the urgent situation at hand. Once Daniel returned to Utania, he told Mallea about their offer for assistance which she accepted so it was chaotic as she broke the news to all the villagers. Everyone was running and grabbing their beloved possessions. Daniel eventually began leading the villagers through the stargate, the wildfire drawing closer and closer. It was unusually quick. The stargate would survive something like this but who knew how long it would take before they would be able to get to Jack and Sam after this fire blew over. It wasn't long before Utania was void of people as the stargate shut down for the time being. Fifteen minutes later, the stargate reconnected since Daniel managed to get approval for a UAV to be sent out with some supplies. He got it to land on the beach near their camp since they wouldn't be able to return the UAV otherwise. _Perhaps Sam would be able to take it apart and use it to boost their radio signals somehow, she was a genius and could do that, right?_

* * *

As the UAV drew close and skidded across the sandy beach, Carter ran over to pick it up with Jack following closely behind her, she unhooked the supplies and handed Jack the plane before she brought the supplies closer to their camp. Opening up the case the supplies were stored into, she found the note and read it out loud for Jack to hear.

"Dear Jack and Sam. Turns out the lightning storm sparked a wildfire that has forced us to evacuate everyone. We can't be sure how long it will be before we can send a team to rescue you. Just hang in there. We'll do what we can do. I'm sorry again. Daniel."

"Oh for cryin' out loud!" Jack muttered as he set the plane down and shook his head. "Could this get any worse?" He scoffed before he headed off towards the spring to clean up.

 _That's the third time he's blown up in two days._ Carter let out a deep sigh and began to make note of what kind of supplies they had gotten, first aid kit, cooking kit, some food and broth among some other tools and several change of clothes. She sorted them out before taking most of it to the cave and leaving some of them out onto the beach for the day. Once she returned, she thought about the UAV and attempted to remember the specifications and details to see if there was a way she could put it to better use for themselves.

When Jack had returned from his bath, seemingly in a much better mood than before, Carter had half the UAV taken apart and ready to find what she needed to do whatever she was trying to do. "Whatcha doing?"

"I'm going to boost our radio signal so that we can reach the stargate at least and maybe get in touch with the SGC when they dial here. Daniel must have known I'd do this otherwise he wouldn't have sent some of these tools I needed." Sam smiled at the archeologists' confidence in her. It was rather comforting actually.

"Good idea, you do that. I'm going fishing." Jack nodded as he walked off towards the shore once more. As Sam carried on with her work, she occasionally stopped to watch Jack fish, thinking deep and hard about what was bothering Jack. _What could possibly be so bad that bothered Jack like this? Nothing really bothered him unless it came down to his teammates. Clearly it's something personal. I need to find out what it is so I can help him get through it somehow._


	4. Chapter 4

Over the next few days on Azurn, it slowly became smokey due to the fire which made it difficult to see what was happening over at Utania. As Jack walked along the beach whistling a tune when he felt a few droplets of what felt like rain, it caused him to stop whistling and look up towards the smokey sky as more rain fell on his face.

It wasn't long before Sam felt it too and rushed to keep important things, such as the exposed UAV, dry by placing them in where they usually slept. When Sam was sure that was everything she needed to keep dry, she let out a long sigh of relief as she let the rain begin to wash her worries away.

It didn't stop raining.

The first night of listening to the rain was soothing and peaceful at first. Sam was supposed to take first watch but within a few minutes, she fell asleep to the sound of rain only to wake up when a hand whacked her in her left breast, causing her to wince and grunt as she sat up quickly, on guard as she looked around to see what had hit her.

It was Jack. Still asleep.

Carter narrowed her eyes at him for a moment until she heard him mumble some words which she couldn't make out. Sam quickly switched on her flashlight to see better against the darkness, he was drenched in sweat. "General, sir." Carter called first before resting her hand on his shoulder, shaking him gently.

"No… Please." Jack sounded somewhat frantic. Carter grabbed both of his shoulders and began to shake a little harder before she nearly fell backwards when Jack suddenly sat up with a shout and was panting a little bit. "Sir… It's me, Carter." Sam spoke soothingly as her hand remained on his shoulder for his own sake. It didn't take long for Jack's surroundings to make sense to him as he looked over at Sam, a strange look in his eyes as he nodded. "I'm fine, Carter. I think it's my turn to take watch. Get some sleep." He spoke gruffly. "Don't make me make it an order." He gave her a warning look before he took her flashlight and stepped out into the fresh breeze, now that the rain had eased up to a drizzle it was easier to see with the moonlight shining through the clouds. Shutting off the flashlight, he went for a slow walk along the shore to cool off from his nightmare.

As Sam watched him go, she was now more concerned than ever as she laid down into bed, pulling Jack's sleeping bag over her. Despite the fact that her eyes closed, it didn't stop her from thinking about what just happened. _He had a night terror. The only time I saw him have one was when we lost Daniel the first time. He basically ordered me to sleep too, why? He's never done that before. No point in worrying about it now, I'll ask him about it later. For now, just sleep Sam._

Sometime before Sam woke up, it was pouring rain and it was cooler that day. Carter simply sat up and kept the blanket wrapped around her as she watched the rain come down hard, leaving tiny little craters in the sand as Jack sat next to her, seeming to prefer staying dry for now. When she realized that Jack was sitting next to her, she offered him his sleeping bag back but he simply took half and wrapped his arm around her to pull her close. _For warmth._ They both convinced themselves. It was comfortable.

Eventually Jack had to go fish for some food, he didn't really need to because they had rations from the supplies that were sent to them but she knew he needed something to do. _I'll give him a few hours to talk about it, if not… I will_.

Jack had absolutely no problem with catching fish in the rain, in fact he caught more than he usually did. Their problem was that it was raining too much and he couldn't start a fire to cook it and it was too wet out to use their propane stove that they were saving for emergencies. Who knew how long it'd be before they would get rescued. It was best to save those things until they truly needed it.

So now Jack was back under the shelter, drying off as he felt useless while he munched on a rations bar, watching Sam work on the UAV. She waited until he had downed the last of his bar with water to say something as she put down the UAV carefully. "Sir. Can I ask you something?"

Blinking as if he was deep in thought, he looked up at Sam. "Anything Carter."

 _Perfect, here we go._ "I need you to be honest with me sir." When she got a nod from him, she carried on now knowing she had his full attention. "What's going on with you? You've been exploding with anger, frustration and who knows what else, whenever something doesn't go right. You had a night terror last night, sir. I know that doesn't come from nothing."

"Carter, it has nothing to do with you. Don't worry about it. I'm fine, now quit askin'" Jack snapped but he had meant to say it sternly, not realizing that he was so tense with the feelings he had building up from within.

A flash of hurt and anger crossed her face as she looked at him. "I can't believe this." She moved to stand at the foot of the shelter to look at him. "After all these years of a friendship, you can't trust to talk to me about something personal after everything we've been through? Especially when you're exploding at your friends."

"We're not friends." Jack blurted out without thinking about what he had just said.

The hurt and anger increased within her. "Oh, I see how it is." With that, she turned and took off into the trees.

"Carter, wait!" The General tried to call out but she was gone. Letting out a groan as he rubbed his face, attempting to scrub away the crap he was feeling. _Shit. What did I just do?_ He hated himself for saying what he had said. He had no clue why he said what he did, it slipped out of his mouth. Jack meant nothing by it and somehow he had screwed it all up. _Maybe it's best to let her go for now._ Jack sighed as he looked off into the distance as the wind slowly picked up, the rain coming down harder than it had before.

It wasn't long before Jack deemed the beach unsafe due to the weather conditions. Picking up his sleeping bag as well as Carter's, he wrapped up the important items to keep dry with the sleeping bags and a couple of big leaves before briskly walking over to the cave in the center of the island. Once inside, he set down the items carefully and looked around. No Carter. _Okay, she's probably on her way over here right now. It's fine. I should get a fire going._ With that, Jack pulled some decent rocks and formed a circle for the firepit and began setting up with what they had in the cave and got a fire going. By this point, Jack was beginning to get worried as he stood by the edge of the cave where he would stay dry yet still see out and around them. "Carter!" Jack called out, hoping she would hear him or something.

Nothing but the sound of pouring rain and creaking of trees was heard.

* * *

 _Goddamnit Jack!_ Sam basically yelled in her head as she just about stomped along the beach, after coming out of the forest as she ignored the wind blowing rain at her, soaking her to the bone. _That man, I swear…_ Carter muttered under her breath as she reached the dead end of the beach which led to a rocky hill. Shaking her head at herself, she closed her eyes to try and calm down as she took in several deep breaths. She didn't want to go back to the camp but she didn't want to go to the cave or even to be anywhere near him. Her attempts to calm herself down didn't work one bit. Starting off with a strong, loud voice as if she was shouting into the wind. "If he doesn't believe we're friends then what the hell did the last few years mean to him? I can't believe he won't tell me. I don't care what it even is about, I just want him happy." Carter then sighed deeply as she realized what she had just said and shook her head at herself. "I'm so screwed." She groaned to herself as she turned to head into the forest. The trees offering some protection from the wind and the rain.

As she carefully made her way through the trees, using some of them for support as she walked along the rocky bottom of the hill. She wasn't on a path but this was quicker than going all the way back around the beach in this weather. All she had to do was follow the rocky hill along the bottom and she'd find the cave eventually. The Colonel was focused on where she was putting her feet as to not make the wrong step and sprain her ankle on a loose rock or something, that wouldn't be very good especially in their situation. All of a sudden everything went black as Sam's body fell to the ground.


	5. Chapter 5

A loud thud was heard and felt as a tree succumbed to the unforgiving wind. There was a small noise that sounded unnatural. It sounded like Carter crying out, without a second thought Jack abandoned the cave and began running as fast as he could towards where he had heard it all while calling out for Carter.

It didn't take too long before he found her draped over a rock, blood trickling down her forehead as a fallen tree lay next to her. Rushing over to her side, Jack shook her shoulder gently in an attempt to wake her but to no avail. _I need to get her into the cave now._ With that thought in mind, he carefully lifted her into his arms as he made his way back to the cave quickly.

Once in the cave, Jack quickly took her BDU's off, guilt rushing over him after their last conversation and the fact that this had happened to her. Once he had her down to her undergarments, he quickly set her down onto a sleeping bag and covered her up, making sure she would be warm by the fire. Pulling out the first aid kit, he grabbed a gauze and held it to the gash on her head. Deciding to use his legs as a pillow for her for the time being until he'd be able to get the bleeding to stop. "I'm so sorry Sam."

After what felt like hours which was only a mere 15 minutes Sam finally opened her eyes. A wince and a grunt of pain slipped past her as she attempted to sit up so she could see where she was and what happened. "Hey, hey. Stay down. You're safe." Jack soothed as he gently pressed his hand against her shoulder so she would relax. "Here, take this for the pain." Offering her a painkiller and some water as well as a rations bar if she needed it. She simply took the water and tablet without hesitation before she relaxed onto Jack's lap. He gave her a few moments before he began to speak. "Looks like you were just in the wrong place at the wrong time, a tree fell and it hit you. Tell me what hurts."

Nodding slowly at his words, Sam's head throbbed as she closed her eyes for a few moments. "My head and I probably have bruised ribs." Sam groaned softly more so in pain than anything.

Jack's hand moved to run through her hair as if to help with her killer headache without thinking about it. It was probably more to soothe himself than for her. Once he realized what he was doing, he stopped but he noted that Sam benefited from the touch so he continued. Who was around to punish them right now anyways? They were two people trying to survive a storm. They were soldiers but nothing required them to be soldiers in this moment but to be friends helping each other through rough times. "Sam." She opened her eyes to look up at him as if to confirm she was listening. "Listen, I'm sorry. I didn't mean what I said. To be honest with you… You're right, I'm a selfish jerk and you deserve an explanation." "Sir I…" Sam began to say more but Jack held up his hand as if to stop her from going on because he wasn't quite done. "Look, I get it. You just wanted to help and I'm sorry. The reason why I've been a jerk lately is because it's been ten years since Charlie, he would have been twenty-two years old as of a few days ago. I tried to request the time off but I was convinced this mission was just going to be a short one and I'd be back home in time for dinner, y'know. The more something went wrong, the more I thought… I'm a terrible father, I can't even go visit Charlie on his birthday because work got in the way. After being so wrapped up in my own selfish world, I didn't realize I had become a terrible friend, especially to you Sam." Jack let out a slow sigh. "And I want you to know that I'm truly sorry. You're one of the closest friends I have ever had."

Carter wasn't expecting any of what he had said but she simply gave him a small smile as she closed her eyes once more. "Thank you." Surprisingly, Jack found himself feeling less burdened with those awful feelings as he continued to watch over her. "You've got a gash on your head, just be careful with it. It's finally just stopped bleeding."

Then she got an idea. "Sir, we came here for that plant… Why don't we test it on me? Maybe it'll help the healing process."

"No way, we don't know what it could do to you. What if you're allergic or something?"

"It's this or I'll recover faster sir. It's perfectly safe. Look at the villagers of Utania. Not even any injuries or sickness. Please, sir. We have to try."

Finally somewhat convinced. "Fine, alright. I'll make something, just… Don't go anywhere." Jack carefully shuffled his legs out from beneath her head and carefully replaced his legs with her pack for the moment as he got up. "I'll be right back, just shout for me if you need me." With that, he headed out of the cave and quickly made his way along the path towards the massive shrubbery of Triyanus. Cutting the plant at the stem, he grabbed an armful before rushing to the cave to get out of the rain. Carter still in the same spot as he had left her as he put down the plant on their supply crate to keep it from getting dirty. Taking a bit of it, he held it over the fire to make it dry and crunchy before he ground them down into small flakes. Setting up a pot of water over the fire, it wasn't long before he had a small cup of Triyanus tea.

"Here, I made tea. I'm hoping this works." Jack was a little hesitant about this but he had faith in her and this plant. He helped her sit up so she could drink some of the tea. It didn't take her very long to finish it all off. The General began to shiver without noticing but Carter did. "Sir, you should get out of those wet clothes and join me, I'm still cold." She lied. She was a bit warm but she was concerned about him. Nodding in agreement, Jack stripped down to his boxers and joined her under the sleeping bag, they had to use one of theirs to provide a barrier between them and the cold cave floor along with some of the leaves that Jack had brought earlier so it only left them one blanket to cover up with. Once he had settled into the bed, the fire still going as she curled up against him, her head resting on his chest as her eyes closed once more. _For warmth._ They both tried to convince themselves once more as Jack wrapped his arm around her, his eyes closing as well.

Jack awoke with confusion as to why Sam hadn't woke her, forgetting that she had been injured and nearly sat up when he felt something warm and heavy against him, keeping him still. _Wait what?_ Jack felt something warm nudge his leg, his hand moved to rest on what felt like Carter's knee. _Oh, right._ Now he remembered that she was hurt. He hadn't meant to fall asleep but the chaotic day had gotten to him. Looking over, he noticed the fire beginning to die down. Careful as to not wake Carter, he moved out of bed. The cool air hitting his skin causing goosebumps to break out as he quickly rekindled the fire. Once the fire was going strong again, he went over to the edge of the cave to the corner and noted it was still pouring rain as the wind seemed to rip through the trees. Fortunately for them, the cave and the springs in the center of the island was the safest place to be. Jack relieved his bladder then quickly joined her back in bed, making sure their clothes were laid out to dry by the fire.

In the morning as the rain continued, Jack found that their clothes were mostly dry so he put them on anyway. Carter was still asleep so Jack quietly went about his business of making them breakfast and tea. As he waited for their meal to cook, he tended to the fire but then he ended up watching her sleep without realizing it. _God, she's so beautiful._ After a few moments of feeling eyes on her, Carter spoke up. "Are you staring at me because I'm drooling sir?" She teased as she slowly rubbed her eyes open before looking at him sleepily.

Never had Jack felt such an urge to kiss her right then and there so he forced himself to look back towards the fire. "Ah, not at all Carter. Sorry, didn't mean to wake you. Breakfast should be ready any minute... now." Jack was surprised at how smooth he thought he was before he moved back to the table where he was making their breakfast. _God that face and the bedhead is really doing things to me, inside and out._ Jack was relieved he was facing the other way now so she couldn't see what she had just done to him.

Little did Jack know that Sam had a cheeky smirk on her face as she slowly sat up, making sure she was covered in the blanket because of how she was dressed. Well, Jack had seen most of her at this point but she still felt the need to be modest around her commanding officer because she respected him and herself. She would have tried to get her shirt at least but it was out of reach and she didn't want to risk moving too much due to her injuries despite the fact that Sam was actually feeling better, there was still a lot of pain but much less than she had before. After becoming so mesmerized and deep in thought while she stared at the fire, she hadn't realized how much time had passed until Jack returned to her side with a plate of fish and a cup of tea. "Thank you." Carter looked over towards him with a grateful smile.

"How's your head?" Jack asked as he used his finger to point to her wound as she turned towards him for him to examine the gash. Jack's fingers slipped through her hair to cradle her head as he carefully moved some of her hair out of the way to see the gash better before slowly stroking her hair and patting her shoulder to let her know he was done. "I'm surprised, actually. It's almost healed completely. Halfway there, I'd say. Well, that plant works." Jack scratched his head, shocked by this but in a good way. Carter missed his touch when he had pulled away but she smiled upon hearing his words. "I feel good, I still hurt but it's better sir. Thank you." Carter nodded as she began to eat her meal, obviously hungrier than she thought.

Throughout the day, Jack stayed with Carter in the cave apart from the occasional bathroom break and also helping Sam with her bathroom breaks as much as he could with all the privacy he could give her which wasn't awkward at all for either of them. Jack eventually learned that Carter rather liked it when she was able to use Jack's legs as a pillow. He'd caress and play with her hair and was extra mindful of her wound. It was extremely soothing for Sam.

Finally the rain cleared the next day, only for a few hours as if they were in the eye of the storm but since Sam was feeling better, her wound had closed up and her headache was almost gone. Jack found that he had to help her get around sometimes due to a leg injury and from her bruised ribs. "General, I'd like a bath in the spring."

"Not in your condition Carter, no way."

"Sir, please. It's been a few days, our clothes need to be washed and we stink, I've got dried blood in my hair that's making me itchy."

"Alright, alright. Fine." Jack sighed as he helped her up and over to the springs. It warmed up fast from the two suns. No wonder there was a hurricane. Once they got to the spring, Jack didn't leave. "Sir?" Sam called.

"What? I'm not leaving. In fact, I'm joining you." Jack spoke as he began pulling off his shirt and pants, leaving him in his boxers as Sam watched in surprise. "I can't let something else happen to you, not on my watch." Jack spoke as he stepped closer to help her up. At that point, Carter realized she still had her clothes on. "Look away, sir." Sam blushed a little when Jack complied as she stepped away and stripped down to her bra and underwear before jumping into the spring.

When he had heard a splash, he looked towards the noise and almost panicked, thinking she had fallen in, only to see her head emerge from the water. "Shit, Carter. A little warning would have been nice!" Jack chuckled at himself and realized he was too tense and needed to relax. "Watch out, here I come…" Jack spoke excitedly as he backed up as far as he could before running at full speed towards the spring and leaping into the air. "CANNONBALL!" Jack shouted as he tucked his knees in and entered the water with a huge splash, one that had Carter giggling.

Upon emerging from the water, Jack swam over to her quickly so he knew she was safe from drowning with him nearby. "Well, that tea does wonders. My frail little old body doesn't creak and pop anymore, doesn't hurt now either. I feel young again." Jack exclaimed as he looked at her with excitement and wonder. This was a version of Jack that Sam thought she'd never see. Without thinking, she pulled herself closer since Jack was holding her hand and leaned in to press her lips against his.

A moment passed as Jack's lips softened against hers, his hand moving to cradle the back of her head. It wasn't long before he suddenly pulled away. "Carter…" It was meant to be a warning tone but it sounded like he wanted more. "Jack." Sam whispered as if to get his attention as she looked into his eyes, her hands resting on either side of his face. It was like they were communicating with their eyes, they didn't need words. After a moment, Jack was the one to lean in to kiss her, holding her close. _Fuck the regs, this is here and now._ He had convinced himself as they eventually broke apart to get some swimming and actual cleaning done. The entire time they cleaned their clothes with some soap sent with the supplies, they wouldn't stop glancing and smiling at each other like teenagers.

There was one point when Jack simply stopped cleaning his clothes and watched her clean hers, this made her face redden a little then she did a double take at Jack to see if he was still staring. "Stop it, you're staring at me." Sam giggled as she gave Jack an amused look, when Jack simply smiled and continued to watch her. Carter splashed him a little. "Why?" Sam then began to splash him even more then he began to splash her back playfully. This continued on for a good several moments before Jack suddenly grabbed her and pulled her in close for a long, deep kiss. When he pulled away, he looked into her eyes. "Because you're absolutely beautiful, Sam."

Once they finally finished, they were still soaking wet when it started to rain again so Jack helped Sam rush back to the cave where the fire was beginning to die down. Quickly, he grabbed a few blocks of wood and brought it over to try and strengthen the fire again which didn't take him long. Once he had finished with the fire, he set their clothes out to dry and joined a nearly shivering Sam in their bed, wrapping his arm around her as he made sure they were both covered up by the blanket and exposed to the heat from the fire. The sound of the rain was relaxing to listen to along with the crackling noises the fire made. This felt so right.


	6. Chapter 6

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Explicit chapter. If you don't feel comfortable reading smut, simply skip this chapter straight to the next one. NSFW basically.

Other than that, thank you so much for your comments! They are what inspires me to write more in this. I wouldn't have gotten this far if it weren't for you guys. Once again, thank you.

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When Jack began to feel warm, he got up and set on making them another cup of tea and something to eat from the rations. It was cold again now that the storm resumed so he tried to be quick about it while Sam watched him, warm and cozy by the fire with the blanket wrapped around her. _He was right, Jack seemed much more fluid in his movements than he was before, his skin seems tighter?_ _What do I look like, I wonder…_ Now she was even more so curious about the Triyanus plant.

It wasn't long before he returned with their tea and food, he was cold again as he sat close to her for warmth as he sipped his tea, letting the hot water warm him up from within. It took a moment or two before he noticed Sam studying his face, he looked at her and simply smiled. Carter was actually studying his face. "You know… You don't have as many wrinkles as you used to and your old scars are healed." After all their missions together, it wasn't the first time she'd seen him topless. Jack nodded as he looked down at the tea and held it out. "Cheers Carter." Sam smiled as she clinked her mug against his. "Cheers. So have you seen any difference with me since the plant?" Sam couldn't help but ask as she sipped her tea and began to munch on her rations bar.

"No but that doesn't mean I ever will because to me, you're always beautiful no matter how different you look, whether I like it or not." Jack then realized how sappy that had sounded and groaned in embarrassment. "Oh geez, I'm a sap." That response had Carter giggling as she watched him. "I secretly like it." She then nudged his arm with hers and smirked. "So, it must just be that it's so focused on healing before the cosmetics… Huh, interesting." Carter grinned at this thought. The way she grinned like that when she had a scientific discovery or something impressed and interested her, it really did things to him as he set his food and drink down, Jack leaned over to pull her in for a long, deep kiss. One that nearly had Sam spill her drink due to lack of focus on everything except his lips. Jack had noticed this and carefully grabbed it from her hands and set it down next to his without breaking the kiss. After a few moments, he had to break it due to lack of air as he opened his eyes, gazing into her own while he gently guided Carter so that she was laying down with him above her. Once her head had settled comfortably, Jack continued their kiss while one of his arms supported himself as his other hand began to caress her side in an affectionate way. This was simply a make-out session, Jack of course wanted more but he wouldn't push it or suggest it whatsoever because he was a gentleman like that.

However, Carter had other ideas as her hands slid up his chest and into his hair then she moved one of her legs around behind his arse and pulled him close until- _Ah, there it is…_ Sam thought to herself as she felt his bulge against her thigh. Carter's hand then moved slowly down to rest on his hip-bone as if to give him the idea that she wanted more but never pushing it either in case he had changed his mind.

A groan slipped from Jack upon feeling Carter's body heat pressed right up against his own. Oh yes, he picked up the signal from her. The skin-on-skin contact had made it feel like their connection was much deeper than they realized. As Jack moved his kisses down along her neck, nibbling here and there causing goosebumps to spread across her skin, her hand slipped below his waistband and grasped his hard member. Jack nearly gasped as her slightly cold hand touched him, his hips bucked slightly into her touch. It felt like it had been so long since he had been touched like this that it was almost overwhelming but he wanted more. Her hand moved slowly at first as if to tease him, causing him to growl playfully as his free hand moved up to cup her breast over her sports bra, massaging and rubbing until he felt a faint nub. Soon he slipped the bra off of her with her help before his lips went straight for her exposed nipple as his hand moved to the other, giving it the same attention as the other one.

Sam gasped at the sudden warmth on his nipple, she let out a small whimper of pleasure as she began to give him solid strokes, a small twist at the tip. She knew what she was doing as Jack swapped breasts with his mouth and hand, she knew she had it right when he began flicking his tongue at her nipple, it caused her to gasp out of pleasure, well it seemed he knew what he was doing too. Once Jack was satisfied that her breasts had enough attention, he began kissing his way down her body. She began to blush deeply, no one had ever gone down on her in the past, Jack's cock slipped out of reach as she redirected her hand to his head instead, running her fingers through his hair. It wasn't long before Jack began to tease her by kissing along her thighs, lightly over her panties where he found a damp spot, pleased that she was already wet, with this in mind, he kissed his way back up to her belly. His fingers pushing her underwear to the side as he dragged them along her folds before slowly slipping in, teasing her entrance with just the tip of his fingers. He was pleased when he found her already wet and ready, spreading the juices around, he smirked to himself when she suddenly gasped, he knew he'd hit her clitoris in the right spot before he let his thumb rest there as he delved his fingers into her.

At this point, Sam was a mess of noises as she wondered to herself. _How the hell was he this good?_ All thoughts flew out of her mind as she felt his fingers thrust and his thumb began massaging at her clit. He knew she wouldn't last long with the way she was responding to his movements. Slowly, he lowered his head and replaced his thumb with his tongue. Soft and flat at first before becoming more focused on the small bundle of nerves. Her grip tightening on his hair as he continued, turning his palm up as he began moving his fingers in a come here motion, right against her G-spot. It wasn't long before Sam was chanting his name and coming apart at his fingertips, he slowly eased up on his movements as her grip loosened on his head. Gently pulling his fingers out before sucking on them to clean them off, Carter felt her heart leap as she watched him, catching her breath. Jack simply smiled and moved back up and close to her before leaning in to kiss her. The sight before him was one he had burned in his mind forever now, he could die happy now.

It wasn't long before she had began to deepen the kiss between them, it became more heated as she somehow managed to flip them over despite the fact that she was hurt but it wasn't quite so bad now, thanks to the plant. There was no resistance from Jack which made it quite easy for her, once she was on top, she ground her hips against his hard cock to tease him, after all he had done teasing her. Oh she wasn't about to back down from a challenge, this would be so fun, she could tell. Eventually, she decided they needed to get rid of their bottoms so she stood, allowing Jack to quickly take off his before she teased him some more by offering him a little show of her own as much as she could around her now-minor injuries. Wriggling her bum and hips at him, she put on a rather sexy little dance as she teased him with her underwear, revealing tiny bits of her at a time before finally stripping it off completely. Straddling him once more, she began to grind him once again while some of her juices slicked up his cock. Despite the fact that she had meant to do this to tease him more so than her, it was also a tease to herself. She leaned down to give him a long, passionate kiss but as she pulled away, she positioned him so when she sat up, he'd slide into her. The feeling of him filling her from within and the warmth of her around him felt so good, causing the both of them to voice their pleasure. They remained still for a few moments as they gazed at each other, taking in the feeling and the sight. It wasn't much longer until she finally began to move slow and long at first. She wanted to drag out the feeling of it all, the connection to the pleasure.

However, neither of them could bear the slow movements for much longer as Jack managed to flip them over so that he was on top without slipping out of her. She found that impressive as she grinned up at him. "What?" Jack asked as he gave her a thrust causing her to gasp in surprise and pleasure before she giggled a little. Another thrust, the same response but instead of giggling, she simply responded. "Kinky."

Jack smirked as he leaned down to shut her up as he increased his thrusts, harder and faster. Carter's legs locked around Jack's lower back as her arms held him close, fingers in his hair before she broke away from the kiss to catch her breath between moans. "Sam." Jack grunted out, he was close but he didn't want to finish without her. She knew what he meant simply from the way he said her name. "Jack." She meant to say but she dragged out his name at different pitches with each thrust. "Ah, don't stop." She gasped out as she reached her peak and was falling over the edge as she heard him groan whilst he gave uneven thrusts as he finished off inside of her. Jack just about collapsed on top of her but he was careful not to hurt her before he slowly rolled to his side next to her as she slowly moved to curl up against him as she pulled the blanket over them. Allowing her eyes to close as she sighed happily as Jack's arm wrapped around her protectively, kissing the top of her head as he took in the scent of her. It wasn't long before the two lovers drifted off to sleep as the sun sank beyond the horizon.


	7. Chapter 7

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Sorry this chapter's a little shorter than I'd anticipated. This was a tough chapter to write for some reason. Thank you again for your support!

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Nearly a week later, the rain finally had stopped and the sun came out, causing the temperature to increase quickly to just how it had been when they first arrived upon the planet. Both Jack and Sam decided to head to the beach to see what was going on over at Utania, curious to see what would happen next.

No smoke, clear as day as if there had never been a hurricane. What was there to expect? This was a tropical paradise. The two let out a sigh of relief upon seeing that the fire had gone out so perhaps they would be home by nightfall.

They waited all day as Jack fished, Sam watching the skies and horizon for any signs of a UAV or a boat, making sure to have her radio nearby. The first sun had just set and still nothing. Jack had caught several fish by then so they headed back to the cave for dinner. "Maybe they're just giving it a few more days because of the weather? Something might also have happened to the stargate, it's possible the fire had caused it to lose stability and fall over. Or something's happened at the SGC. Whatever it is, I'm sure there's a good reason." Sam tried to give an encouraging smile but Jack could see through it. "Carter, it's going to be fine. They won't stop until they rescue us." Jack simply smiled as he gave her a soothing kiss on the head. "Besides, you've got me." He teased and began making dinner with their tea since it gave them so many benefits, why stop?

Carter was the first to wake in the morning, she headed out to the beach to check for any signs of anything but it was still clear. Deciding that she needed a bath, she stopped at the spring on her way back for a bath in which Jack joined her after he woke up.

When they finished their bath, the couple headed back towards the beach to find a UAV half-buried in the sand from it's attempted landing. Carter was the one to open the crate and see the note, she read it out loud for Jack as he looked through the supply crate, frowning at the fact that there were more supplies.

"Jack and Sam, good and bad news, the fire seemed to skip past Utania so the village is just fine, no harm done there. Bad news, the stargate fell over, facing upwards. We can only send you UAVs and supplies as long as the weather is willing so we're going to do just that. The General here sent out a ship to rescue you guys and get the stargate back up so we can bring the villagers home. Oh by the way, Carro the deaf guy… He had a stroke which caused him to forget the last day of what he had done which is why he forgot you guys. The ship should arrive in two weeks. Sorry again. Daniel."

Jack nearly groaned but then he realized what that meant. _Oh wait… More time with Carter._ It wasn't long before he was smiling and staring at her, Sam finally looked up from the note and was smiling and blushing. "What?" Jack chuckled and leaned in to give her a long, deep kiss that turned into a makeout session of course. Sam never would have thought that Jack would be this affectionate as a lover which caused her feelings to bubble up into her chest. _If only I could tell him how I truly feel._ Sam thought as she let out a small moan before pulling away with a smile on her face. "We should probably bring these back to the cave." In which Jack gave a nod and placed another short smooch on her lips before he stood and carried the supplies since they were the heaviest, leaving Sam to pick up the UAV which was a lot lighter than it looked. Despite the fact that they were just told that they'd be stuck on the island for longer, the two weren't complaining. Not one bit.

* * *

The two weeks had gone by so fast. Note after note with the supply crates, they had determined when they were getting rescued. It was tomorrow. As Jack and Sam laid on the beach, right up on the sand against the extra blankets they got from the supply crates. The stars shimmering and glowing beautifully in the clear night sky. They had started doing this several nights ago. One of the best ideas that Jack has ever had. Most of the time, they'd chat a little and simply lay there in silence or point out some of those shooting stars or form a shape of some kind. It was extremely relaxing and peaceful for them, especially with the sound of the gentle ocean waves, sometimes one or both of them would fall asleep.

This time though, tonight was somewhat tense. They both had questions. After a few moments of silence, Jack was the first to speak since he knew Sam was probably trying to figure something out in that brain of hers and he wanted to hear it. "What do you think we should do when we get rescued?"

"About us?"

"Mmhm." Jack nodded as he squeezed her hand gently, showing he was here for her always.

"Well, considering our careers… I'm not letting you give it up because of me, for us. I wouldn't forgive myself for that, especially when I know how far you've come in your career… And I can't give mine up either, the world still needs me, the SGC still needs me."

The thought of going back to just being friends, pretending this hadn't happened hurt. Jack knew she was right but he didn't care as much for his job as he did for her. He knew he couldn't retire just for her as much as he wanted to. There had to be another way. "Sam…" Jack began and looked over at her and waited for her to look back. "You know I've got your six, always."

Nodding as she smiled at his words, feeling relieved as the tension seemed to disappear. "And I, yours." She finally responded as she moved closer to kiss him before they looked back up at the sky, this was a vacation that neither of them would ever forget.


	8. Chapter 8

**Author's Note:** I apologize for the gap in posting, I had a bad week and fell out of my muse. I'm so sorry that this one is a little shorter than usual but I promise this is a good chapter. The next one or two is going to be mainly from Sam's perspective but it gets good. Thank you for your continuing support and love! I appreciate it greatly.

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Five weeks. That was how long they'd been stranded and now to finally be able to go home to the SGC… Well, not quite at the SGC yet. They needed to fix the stargate for the Utanians so they could come home and for Jack and Sam to get home too. Getting the stargate upright again was no issue thanks to the ship's technology. Now, the stargate still worked but Carter thought it'd be a good idea to run some computer tests first to make sure it was absolutely safe for gate travel. There wasn't really a break for Sam after being rescued. Not that she needed one after their paradise stay together.

After boarding the ship, watching her as she got swept away by some technicians and scientists trying to catch her up on the latest. _She's right. The world still needs her._ With that thought in mind, Jack smiled to himself as he headed into the direction of his quarters with a much needed shower. The spring was nice but he needed a proper shower and a good, long nap in the sanctuary of a real bed. It was the little things he missed.

Meanwhile Carter managed to calm the group of people that were following her. All she had to do was tell them what to do or make suggestions with every news or questions that arose or even an issue with the ship. The Colonel had made it clear to everyone that the stargate was her priority. Thankfully for her when the ship landed near the stargate, she set straight to work once the area was deemed clear. When she was hard at work like this, people gave her peace and quiet and some help when she asked for it. It was very clear that this woman was highly respected and a national treasure.

A couple of hours later, Carter was confident to say that the stargate was safe for gate travel so it wasn't much longer before the Utanians were home again. Needless to say that they were grateful and they had themselves a new ally and a trading deal. Knowledge and protection for the Triyanus plant.

However there was a strange encounter with one of the older villagers that came through. Sam was with Daniel, smiling and welcoming people back to their homes by showing them where to follow the trail back home. As this lady walked up to Sam, she was being helped by the village leader, Mallea. The elder woman spoke in their language and smiled at her as she bowed deeply to Sam before following the others. Carter smiled and thanked her but she was confused as she looked over at Daniel. "What was that about?" He seemed somewhat confused as well. "I think I got that translation wrong. I think she said something about a new life." It was a little clear that there was a little more to it. "Why were they all giving me this weirdly happy look?"

As Daniel looked over at her, he began to stammer and chuckle nervously. "Uh…" He scratched the back of his head as Sam smacked his arm lightly. "Come on, out with it." Crossing her arms as she watched him, standing in front of him as the stargate shut down.

"That's the last of them!" A soldier called from nearby. Carter simply said nothing as she continued to look at Daniel. It was obvious that they were awaiting orders so Daniel glanced over at them quickly. "Go for it." With that, the soldier began to dial home slowly with the symbols he had on his paper that he was referring to. Daniel began to explain what he had discovered while they were gone. "Apparently by Utania's custom, if there are two people regardless of gender that stay on the island for more than a week… That makes them married." He trailed off as the wormhole engaged and Sam looked on with shock and surprise as it made sense to her now. "Oh! Jack and I are married on this planet?" Daniel nodded his confirmation as he sent in their IDC. Carter giggled to herself and shook her head when Daniel asked what was funny. "Oh you know… Jack and I, married?" She shook her head as she smiled, stepping through the stargate.

Without realizing, Daniel simply grinned to himself as he watched her step through. When Teal'c stopped and asked him why the grinning expression.

"It's just… She keeps calling him Jack." Pushing up his glasses, he glanced over at Teal'c before stepping through the gate.


End file.
